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Mr. Peggotty, a kind and simple sailor, is one of Dickens’s most beloved supporting characters. His defining characteristic is his devotion to his family, especially Ham and Little Em’ly, both of whom he took in after they were orphaned. He is also devoted to David and considers him family from the moment they meet. Mr. Peggotty is the leader of the Peggotty clan and he is responsible for filling their humble home with love and joy despite their lack of money. Like many of Dickens’s novels, David Copperfield seeks to correct the belief that money is an indication of a person’s character. Mr. Peggotty reinforces this idea because his nobility, his strength, and his inherent goodness have nothing to do with his class.
Mr. Peggotty is an astonishingly progressive character for a book that was published in the mid-19th century. About halfway through the novel, Mr. Peggotty learns that his niece, Little Em’ly, has run away with Steerforth, a man who has no intention of marrying her. By Victorian social standards, Em’ly is now a fallen woman. It wasn’t uncommon at the time for women like Em’ly to be disowned and rejected so that they could not bring further ruin upon the family. However, not only does Mr. Peggotty maintain that “[Little Em’ly] shall never be disgraced by us,” he also devotes his every waking minute to tracking Little Em’ly down so that he can bring her home and make sure that she is safe. As he tells David, finding Little Em’ly is his duty “evermore.” Like most of the kind characters in David Copperfield, Mr. Peggotty is ultimately rewarded for his goodness and eventually reunited with his niece and emigrates with her, Martha, and Mrs. Gummidge to Australia so that Little Em’ly might start a new life.
